Alfred de Breanski Jr Signed Evening Lake Windermere Cattle Landscape Oil Painting
Alfred de Breanski Jr Signed Lake Windermere Cattle Landscape Oil Painting
Atmospheric Early 20th Century British Lake District Oil on Canvas Depicting Cattle Beside Windermere Beneath Glowing Evening Light
Highlights
• Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (British, 1877–1957)
• Lake Windermere
• Early 20th century
• Oil on canvas
• Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
• Further signed and titled verso
• Cattle wading beside a solitary figure
• Atmospheric Lake District mountain scenery
• Dramatic russet, ochre and rose evening illumination
• Substantial decorative gilt frame
• Documented Bigwood Auctioneers provenance
• Framed 71.5 cm high x 92 cm wide x 10 cm deep
• Strong decorative scale and British landscape character
• Supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
Introduction
An atmospheric early 20th-century British landscape by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. (1877–1957), depicting the tranquil waters of Lake Windermere beneath the changing light of an evening sky.
Cattle stand quietly in the shallows beside a solitary figure, while the lake leads towards successive ranges of mountainous scenery softened by atmospheric distance.
The principal fell catches the declining light in glowing passages of russet, ochre, orange and rose, contrasting beautifully with the cooler mauves and blue-grey tones of the surrounding landscape.
The painting combines the grandeur of the Lake District with the quiet pastoral character frequently associated with British landscape painting of the period.
Of particular significance is the artist’s signature. The painting is signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right and further signed and inscribed on the reverse:
“Lake Windermere
A. FONTVILLE”
Catalogue Details
Artist: Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.
Nationality: British
Dates: 1877–1957
Title: Lake Windermere
Date: Early 20th century
Medium: Oil on canvas
Genre: British Landscape
Signature: Signed “A. FONTVILLE” lower right
Verso: Signed and inscribed “Lake Windermere / A. FONTVILLE”
Subject: Lake Windermere, Lake District, England
Framed Dimensions: 71.5 cm high x 92 cm wide x 10 cm deep
Frame: Substantial decorative gilt frame
Previous Sale: BFA Auctioneers Ltd trading as Bigwood Auctioneers, 10 January 2025, Lot 89
Catalogue Note
Light and atmosphere provide the principal drama within this extensive Lake District composition.
The foreground is deliberately restrained. Dark rocks, grasses, reeds and vegetation establish the shoreline, where cattle stand quietly in the shallow water beside a solitary figure.
Windermere then creates a broad reflective interval before the landscape rises through successive ranges of mountains.
The distant fells are progressively softened through cooler mauve, violet and blue-grey tones, creating a convincing sense of atmospheric recession.
Against these quieter passages, the principal illuminated mountain becomes the visual focus. Broken strokes of orange, russet, ochre and muted rose suggest the fleeting effect of low evening light moving across its slopes.
The handling of the paint varies throughout the composition. The sky, water and distant landscape are comparatively smoothly treated, while stronger textured brushwork describes the illuminated mountain, vegetation, rocks and foreground.
The result is a substantial British landscape in which the changing effects of natural illumination become as important as the topographical subject.
The Artist
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. was born in London in 1877 into an established artistic family.
His father, Alfred de Breanski Sr., became particularly associated with mountainous landscapes of Scotland and Wales, while his mother, Annie Roberts, was also an artist.
The younger de Breanski studied at St Martin’s School of Art before developing his own career as a landscape painter.
His work frequently explores mountainous and waterside scenery together with the changing effects of natural illumination.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists.
Documented Royal Academy exhibits include A Cottage Garden (1907), Summer (1912), Willows (1914) and Autumn Gold (1917).
His work is also represented in institutional collections, including the UK Government Art Collection.
The “A. Fontville” Signature
The signature provides an important element in the identification of the artist.
Published specialist research records “A. Fontville” among the signature forms used by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr.
The present work carries this name clearly at lower right and repeats it beneath the title on the reverse.
Comparative research has identified documented paintings by de Breanski Jr. that are similarly signed on the painted surface and further signed or identified verso.
Particularly relevant is Llyn Ogwen, North Wales, documented by Christie’s with the “A. FONTVILLE” signature and further identification on the reverse.
The signature, corresponding verso inscription, subject matter, technique, comparative evidence and documented auction attribution together provide strong supporting evidence for the identification of the artist.
Exhibition History of the Artist
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jr. exhibited at the Royal Academy and Royal Society of British Artists.
Documented Royal Academy exhibits include:
1907 – A Cottage Garden
1912 – Summer
1914 – Willows
1917 – Autumn Gold
This exhibition history relates to the artist generally.
No claim is made that the present Lake Windermere was itself exhibited at either institution.
Lake Windermere
The identification of the location is supported directly by the artist’s own inscription on the reverse.
Windermere has long attracted landscape painters through the relationship between its extensive waters, surrounding fells and rapidly changing atmospheric conditions.
Here the cattle and solitary figure establish scale and provide quiet pastoral interest, but the dominant subjects remain water, mountains and the transformation of the landscape through light.
The eye moves from the darker foreground shoreline across the broad expanse of water towards the illuminated mountain and more distant ranges beyond.
The glowing illumination across the principal fell gives the work its distinctive visual character and creates a dramatic focal point within the composition.
Provenance
Private collection, United Kingdom.
BFA Auctioneers Ltd, trading as Bigwood Auctioneers, Tiddington, Stratford-upon-Avon, 10 January 2025, Lot 89.
The auction house catalogued the lot as a pair of oil paintings on canvas by Alfred Fontville de Breanski Jnr (1877–1957), including Lake Windermere.
Acquired from the above by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Dimensions
Overall framed:
Height: 71.5 cm
Width: 92 cm
Depth: 10 cm
Approximately 28.15 inches high x 36.22 inches wide x 3.94 inches deep
Hanging fitting present to the reverse.
Condition Report
The painting presents well overall for its age.
The canvas displays age-related craquelure, variations in surface tonality and minor surface marks consistent with an antique oil painting.
Areas of textured and broken brushwork remain particularly evident across the illuminated mountain, vegetation, rocks and foreground.
The substantial decorative gilt frame displays age-related rubbing, cracking, localised decorative losses and areas of historic retouching to the gilt surface.
Visible age-related cracking and separation are present to sections of the applied ornament.
The frame is complementary to the painting, although no claim is made that it is conclusively the artist’s original frame without documentary evidence establishing this.
Please study all photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the condition report.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
Owing to the substantial dimensions and weight of the framed painting, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.
International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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